John de Moravia, 7th Earl of Sutherland

John Sutherland, (died 1460) was the 7th Earl of Sutherland and chief of the Clan Sutherland, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

Early life

He was the son of Robert Sutherland, 6th Earl of Sutherland and Margaret Stewart, daughter of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan (the Wolf of Badenoch).

Earl of Sutherland

According to 19th-century historian William Fraser, the first mention of John, 7th Earl of Sutherland was in 1408 by Andrew of Wyntoun in his Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland. Before the commencement of the Battle of Baugé in 1421 in France where the Scots defeated the English, the Duke of Burgundy knighted several of the squires and the first of these was John of Sutherland.

According to Gordon, John, 7th Earl died at Dunrobin in 1460 and was buried at the chapel of St Andrews in Golspie, rather than the usual burial place of the earls at Dornoch Cathedral.

Family

John Sutherland, 7th Earl of Sutherland married Margaret, daughter or sister of Sir William Ballie of Lamington who was one of the earl's fellow hostages. They had the following children:

Alexander, Master of Sutherland, who appears on a charter of Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross at Inverness dated 10 October 1444, but who died before his father in 1456. According to Gordon he left a daughter, Marjorie, who married William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness. However, according to Fraser, Lord Hailes proves that Marjorie, Countess of Caithness, was the daughter of Alexander Sutherland of Dunbeath, but that he could not have been aware of the aforementioned charter, concluding that Alexander must have died previous to 1456 when his next brother John was treated as the heir to the title of the earldom of Sutherland. John Sutherland, 8th Earl of Sutherland, heir and successor. Nicolas Sutherland, who witnessed his father's letter of presentation in 1448, but of whom nothing further is known. Thomas Beg Sutherland, according to Gordon, he was the ancestor of the Sutherlands in Strath Ullie, but according to Fraser nothing further of him is known. Lady Jean Sutherland, who married Sir James Dunbar, and left issue. Lady Murial Sutherland, who married Alexander Seton of Meldrum. However, according to Fraser, while there is evidence that Alexander Seton married a Murial Sutherland, her connection with the Earl of Sutherland has not been confirmed and the Seton pedigree says that she was from the Sutherland of Duffus family. Thomas More Sutherland, a natural son, who in turn had two sons of his own who were killed by their uncle, John Sutherland, 8th Earl of Sutherland.